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Lakeville police flag high cost of regulating local roads, cite understaffing; $24,000 traffic grant secured
Summary
Police Chief Matthew Perkins told the Master Plan Implementation Committee that several Lakeville streets lack MassDOT regulation, that a recent contractor estimate to complete regulations was about $140,000, and that the department received $24,000 for traffic enforcement while warning the town is understaffed compared with cited standards.
Police Chief Matthew Perkins told the Town of Lakeville’s Master Plan Implementation Committee that several local streets have never been through the MassDOT speed-regulation process and would require a formal study to set permanent limits.
Chief Perkins said the town previously sought quotes to bring unregulated roadways into a regulated status and cited an older estimate near $100,000; in the meeting he referenced a more recent figure of about $140,000 to complete the work. He said one option discussed in the meeting (referred to during remarks as “9017 c”) would let certain streets default to a 25 mph zone without additional posted signage.
Perkins described a related plan for a road-safety audit of locations the state lists as high-crash spots, noting the state maintains crash data for corridors such as Bedford Street and may handle larger redesign projects on state-owned routes.
On traffic enforcement and equipment, Perkins said the municipal road-safety grant has funded movable radar speed signs in prior years and that this year the program focused on enforcement dollars. “We did receive $24,000 recently for traffic enforcement for the next year,” he said.
Staffing came up repeatedly in the committee’s conversation. Perkins told members that communications and dispatch are stretched and that the department would benefit from having two staff in dispatch from roughly 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. He also cited a commonly referenced staffing guideline and the department’s current level: “The federal standard is 2.5 police officers per thousand population,” he said, and the department estimated Lakeville is closer to 1.7 officers per thousand, a shortfall he said will grow as the town’s population increases.
Committee members urged follow-up, including whether an advisory public-safety committee recommended in the master plan should be formed to prioritize work. The chair and members noted the committee would be advisory only and that any regulation or budget decision would still require town action.
The committee did not take formal votes on regulation changes or staffing at the meeting; members directed staff to continue coordinating with department heads and to consider budget implications in the coming fiscal cycle.
